India tops pollution deaths - Highlights By: Balbir Singh Sooch

The Vote Control or May Be Money Control, But There Is No Pollution Control in India. Why?

1. “In contrast, many people in developed countries commute to air-conditioned offices in air-conditioned cars.

2. Exposure to high levels of air pollution can affect human respiratory and inflammatory systems, and can lead to heart disease, stroke and lung cancer.” — Reuters: Courtesy: The Tribune, Chandigarh

3. Cracks in ban, but not total mess: NCR flouts SC order with impunity, pollution level in Punjab down.

4. New Delhi, October 20, 2017: Delhi, that saw relentless bursting of crackers till late in the night despite the ban imposed by the Supreme Court, woke up to a blanket of smog today.

5. Online indicators of pollution-monitoring stations in the capital glowed red, indicating a ‘very poor’ air quality as the volume of ultra fine particulates PM 2.5 and PM 10, which enter the respiratory system, sharply rose from around 7 pm yesterday.

6. The situation was similar, if not worse, in Gurugram, Noida and Ghaziabad, where crackers were burst as usual, raising a question mark on the efficacy of the administration in enforcing the ban. Importantly, the cracker ban saw a 16 per cent decline in fire accidents in New Delhi.

7. In an encouraging sign, pollution levels across Punjab this Diwali declined as compared to last year. The pollution level increased by just 24 per cent this Diwali, compared to 70 per cent last year when the state’s air quality index (AQI) a day ahead of Diwali was recorded at 130. This year, the AQI increased to 328 from 265, an increase of 24 per cent.

8. Cracker ban goes up in smoke: Residents flout HC order with impunity: Patiala, October 20,2017: Residents burnt crackers and fireworks overnight despite the fact that the Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC) had fixed three-hour time for the purpose. The HC has allowed bursting of crackers from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm on Diwali evening, but the sounds of crackers were heard even after midnight of October 19 from several areas in the city (and cities like Ludhiana).

9. India tops pollution deaths: ‘25 lakh a year’: Lancet study: One in six of all deaths worldwide caused by pollution.

12. What kills more people than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined? Three times the total casualties of these three scourges of mankind are on account of pollution; as it is six times the number of accident victims.

13. A recent study by The Lancet medical journal gives a horrifying figure of 90 lakh premature deaths worldwide in 2015 because of exposure to polluted air, water and soil. India is, expectedly and unfortunately, among the worst-hit countries.

14. Air and water pollution in India is endemic and the biggest killer, with 18.1 lakh deaths a year linked to polluted air and 6.4 lakh to water.

15. The argument that in some way pollution is the price of development is false.

16. It costs the country too much to fight pollution and its effects, including ill health, on the population.

17. Indeed, such high figures should be a wake-up call to enforce pollution control measures more stringently, and to provide a healthy environment to the people who live in the country.

18. Even though it is too early to arrive at any conclusion, anecdotal evidence suggests that the recent intervention of courts in imposing restriction on the sale and bursting of firecrackers has had a salutary effect.

19. Now that Diwali is over, it may be a good opportunity to plan an initiative to reduce pollution due to the bursting of crackers in future.

20. Vehicular pollution is another egregious offender, as is industrial pollution, which seldom get the attention they deserve.

21. Water pollution is of particular concern in India, especially because industrial units are located near rivers, into which they discharge untreated effluents, a situation exacerbated by civic bodies that do the same.

23. In fact, both air and water contamination disproportionately affect developing countries, and we need to take proactive steps to actively fight pollution and its effects.

24. Stricter implementation of rules, and a policy framework that does not allow citizens’ health to be held hostage to development promises, would be a good start.

Comments:
Sarabjeet Singh wrote: Eye-opening editorial
ashok759 wrote:
(i) A full fledged national health emergency is upon us. We cannot pursue growth at the cost of clean air and water.
(ii) Equally, we cannot triple the size of our economy without making environmental sustainability an integral part of our planning.
(iii) A move away from coal to renewable for generating power is imperative.

(iv) As it is required greatly improved public transport coupled with electric vehicles for those who cannot do without private transport.
(v) In our lives, simple conscious changes can make each one of us part of the solution.

Highlights courtesy by: The Tribune, Chandigarh

“The Vote Control or May Be Money Control, But There Is No Pollution Control In India. Why?

“India Matters: Those who fight darkness”:

25. India Matters For Those: Who are themselves polluted-dirty, ‘to make somebody morally or spiritually impure’ unhygienic get others polluted-corrupt or defile others-‘to make somebody morally or spiritually impure’ and support polluters in lieu of donations and such polluted were penniless, jobless and their families short of daily meals, but after joining politics and became mediators of the administration especially of the police and are in crores, wealthy and known respectable leaders in the eye of generally polluters of India.

26. Who did falsely highlight and assist them as one of the heroes and the patriots of my India? GUESS? To answer all the questions always not possible as common Indians feel always terrorized from elected and unelected actors in India.

27. With the result, the lawless polluters etc and the pollution are out of reach of law and of the judgments of the higher courts against the pollution, social evils etc since so-called independence of India”.

28. You all must be experiencing daily and recently yesterday on ‘Diwali’ that’s on October 19-20, 2017 as to how the judgments of the higher courts against the pollution-crackers proved ineffective and meaningless all over especially in Delhi.

29. Balbir Singh Sooch is commenting all this with a great responsibility as a ground and grass root realities in India especially as he experienced also while staying in Ludhiana.

30. Now stage has reached that there is no efficient and competent authority to check, question and supervise the working and performance of even of the lowest government employee, what to talk of Patwari as his reporting genuine or in-genuine carries always more weight than the higher officers own assessments.

31. One day, a Tehsildar (Assistant Collector First Grade) asked a question as to who is powerful authority in ‘Revenue Department’, I wanted to answer… before the Tehsildar (Assistant Collector First Grade) answered himself and said “PATWARI”.

32. As to why is all this happening? The detailed answer may have no end, but the Tehsildar (Assistant Collector First Grade)’s opinion was very right and correct considering the all level ground and grass root realities existing and prevailing in India.